Why Colombia’s pro-Trump candidate was banned from wearing the national team jersey | CNN

South American electoral authorities may want to consider the soccer calendar when setting the date for the next vote. That seems to be the lesson from Colombia, where the excitement for its first World Cup outing since 2018 spilled into the political arena ahead of a presidential runoff on June 21. So much so that on Wednesday, a local judge in the Colombian capital Bogota issued a ruling banning right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, who’s the favorite in the election, from wearing the bright yellow jersey of the national team. For weeks, de la Espriella and his supporters have been wearing the jersey at political rallies and on social media. De la Espriella, a conservative nationalist who’s brought a MAGA-like rhetoric to the Colombian political field, considers the soccer jersey a national symbol like the flag or the armed forces –– an icon of his political aspirations. Ahead of the first round on May 31, de la Espriella asked his voters to wear the jersey at the polls, side-stepping electoral rules that prohibit candidates from campaigning on the day of the election. His critics, including leftist rival Ivan Cepeda, have criticized de la Espriella and lamented